Great Bay, St. Maarten, (Friday, January 28, 2011) – The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports & Youth Affairs has informed all school boards and teachers of Public Schools and those funded by government that Monday, January 31, 2011 is a "regular school day" and consequently teachers and students "are expected to attend school normally and on time."
In a letter to the school boards on Friday, January 28th 2011, the Ministry referred to the events of January 27th and 28th 2011 when teachers were called out by their union to a meeting during school hours, which resulted in students "being denied education."
The letter stated that "this cannot be supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs because, according to the letter, "all possibilities to arrive at an amicable settlement between government and the union without industrial action were not exhausted."
The letter concluded by stating that "In the event persons fail to comply with the directives of the Ministry, the policy of no work, no pay will be applied."